A True Hollywood Girl
by Freakishlylovable
Summary: This is the sequel to Fabulous.  The summary is inside.  Please read and review, and be nice!
1. Secrets Kept

_Here is the sequel to Fab-u-lous. And it's a little different. It's a little more mature. But that's just this chapter and maybe a few more. If you keep reading it will be more like Fab-u-lous was before. Here is the summary-_

Fab-u-lous is at the height of their success. All teenage girls want to be them and all teenage boys want to date them. Gabriella and Sharpay are living their dreams, but will soon be grounded by reality. Sharpay is struggling over the loss of Zeke. Her pain makes her become Hollywood's newest Lindsay Lohan. But Sharpay won't stay down for long, she's got her eyes set on a new prize, Troy Bolton. Now Gabriella has to battle Sharpay for the love of her life and has to face a important Hollywood lesson, you're dirty little secrets don't stay secret for long.

Now, here is the sequel to Fab-u-lous, just promise to give me time to get into writing it. It will get better. Here it is...

"Sharpay!" Gabriella yelled at her friend.

"What the hell do you want?" Sharpay slurred out.

"I want my best friend to stop doing this to herself!" Gabriella shouted back. The two girls were arguing in their hotel room. Sharpay had come home, yet again, drunk. They have been Hollywood's It Girls for over five months now, and Sharpay had taken a tailspin. And Gabriella feels a little guilty because her life has been going great. Better than great, it was fantastic.

Gabriella had the most amazing boyfriend on the entire planet, Troy Bolton. Sharpay on the other hand had her heart broken by the guy she loved. Grant it, Zeke had every reason in the world to break up with her. After all, Sharpay did cheat on him. Even though she was drunk at the time, but it didn't make much of a difference to Zeke. And Gabreilla knew that Sharpay's breakup didn't give her the motivation to stop coming home drunk every night. She knew that Sharpay needed to move on, but hooking up with Hollywood's newest train wreck isn't the most appealing thing to any guy.

Now there's another point, Sharpay has totally let lose. She's become a slutty, bitchy, Lindsay Lohan wannabe, party girl. It was not her friend. And it was not who she wanted to be around, not after all she went through with her drunk of a father. Everything with her father had changed her. So, either Sharpay would stop drinking, or Gabriella is done.

"Sharpay, you have a problem." Gabriella said, trying to take a more calm approach. But by now, it was pointless, Sharpay had just passed out.

Gabriella got up to get her cell phone and called Troy.

"Hey, it's late. Is everything okay?" Troy asked the second he picked up.

"Sharpay's drunk again." Gabriella replied.

"I'll be over in a few minutes." Troy instantly said back, hanging up the phone. Unfortunately, Troy coming over to take care of Sharpay had almost become routine. Gabriella knew that Sharpay had a problem, she just didn't know how to stop it. She didn't know how to last time, so she just helplessly watched. Now, she knew that she couldn't just let it happen, but didn't know what to do.

Troy entered the hotel room using his key, which Gabriella gave to him months ago after Sharpay started getting worse. Gabriella just had trouble facing these memories alone.

"Hey." Troy said after he got Sharpay a bucket and whatever else she might need for when she woke up.

"Hey." Gabriella replied back solemnly. They sat in silence for a little while after this, which wasn't too out of the ordinary. Gabriella wasn't too chatty whenever she was placed in this situation.

"We have to do something about this." Troy finally said.

"She refuses to check herself into rehab. And her family doesn't seem to care about any of this at all." Gabriella said with some disdain.

"She goes out to parties because she's bored. She just needs a project." Troy said.

"Like what?" Gabriella asked. "I mean, we've already finished the album, now we have to sit and wait until it's released. And Zeke dumped her, so she has no boyfriend to occupy her. And after all the rumors going around, the only guy who would hook up with her is Kevin Federline. And she says he's not her type. It's hopeless."

"It's Hollywood and this town is filled with idiots. There must be some guy who she likes that will date her." Troy said.

"Maybe Josh Walters." Gabriella said. Troy just shot her a look that told her it was still too soon to mention the name Josh Walters in front of him.

"I still don't get why you're so touchy on the subject. We are still together right?" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, but he had you while I was gone." Troy answered.

"What!" Gabriella quickly said.

"Not like, had you had you, emotionally had you." Troy said.

"God, Troy. He was Josh Walters, so yeah I had a little crush, but that was it. I love you and I always loved you." Gabriella defended.

"I know. But just to confirm, you didn't sleep with him." Troy answered.

"No. And you know that. I wouldn't sleep with a guy I didn't know." Gabriella replied.

"What about with a guy you love?" Troy asked.

"Are we back on this again?" Gabriella asked annoyed.

With Troy and Gabriella, kissing had always been enough. But now, they are both seventeen years old and have been dating for two years. The old routine has started to get boring. But they had both managed to hold out for a while, but Troy was becoming restless.

"I'm just saying, two years. And we love each other, right?" Troy said.

"Why are you so intent on this now? Why not months ago?" Gabriella asked.

"Because, I don't know. You seem distant lately. And because of that distance it's hard to connect with you emotionally, so maybe physically." Troy answered.

It was true, Gabriella had been emotionally distant. But Sharpay was bringing up memories of her father she did not wish to relive. She had a reason to be distant, but she never told Troy why her mom had left her dad. She just said divorce. So he had no idea why she was acting the way she was.

"I'm sorry. It's just Sharpay has had me stressed. I love you, you know that." Gabriella replied.

"Okay, another point. As great as I am, I'm still a horny teenage boy. And I'll admit it." Troy said.

"Yeah, and you are doing a very good job at holding the horny part of you back." Gabriella answered.

"So, we're never having sex?" Troy asked.

"No, we will. When I'm ready."

"I love you for you're innocence and being America's Good Girl, but can you just let lose for one night." before Troy could say anything else, Sharpay started throwing up.

"I'll be back." he said before going to cater to Sharpay.

Gabriella understood why Troy wanted to take their relationship to the next level. But Gabriella believed that they should wait. Because the guy she lost her virginity to wasn't as much as a Prince Charming as Gabriella thought he was. Too bad Troy doesn't know anything about this guy, if he did, Gabriella doubted that he would see her as innocent much longer. But what she went through with the guy who broke her heart was reason enough to hold off with Troy.

As Gabriella sat on the couch, a message popped up on Gabriella's computer screen from across the room.

The screenname was URGOINDOWNGM.

The message read: I know your secret, if you don't do what I say, I'm going to tell.

_Please review!_


	2. Secrets Known

When Gabriella first read the message that someone knew her secret, she panicked. When she first read the message that they were going to blackmail her into doing whatever they wanted, she panicked even more. She must of made some noise that showed her anxiety and shock, because Troy came running out of Sharpay's room.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked. Oh, God, she thought. He can tell, he can tell that something's wrong.

"Um, yeah. Why do you ask?" she asked playing dumb.

"Because you practically screamed. What happened?" Troy asked, coming nearer to her, and in sight of the computer screen.

"Nothing, nothing." Gabriella quickly said trying to discreetly stand in front of the monitor.

"It didn't sound like nothing." Troy replied.

"Well, it's nothing."

"Okay, you've been acting really, really weird lately. Is everything alright with you?" he asked, again coming nearer. But this time Gabriella was sure that she completely covered the screen and she relaxed, just a little, but only because Troy put his arms around her waste, and gently stroked her hair out of her face.

"It's just been weird for me." she quietly said.

"What has?"

"I don't know. Everything that has happened lately." she answered. Well, that wasn't exactly a lie. Becoming famous and watching your best friend slowly deteriorate in front of your eyes is rather difficult to say the least. And then there was the blackmailer.

"Yeah, life has gone full speed ahead. I barely know which way is up anymore. But you know what I always have to guide me?" he said, the warmth in his tone dripping like honey.

"What?" Gabriella asked, already knowing what the answer was.

"You." he said before he kissed her.

Their gentle, school kid kisses have become a thing of the past. Now becoming more passionate and hungry, making it very difficult for either of them to not take it to the next level. Every time Troy touched Gabriella it was an uphill battle not to get on top of him and to turn him down when he wants to further things. But this time it was made a lot easier for her because her longing for him was suddenly gone once she heard Sharpay start wretching again.

"I'll go take care of her." Troy said before giving Gabriella one last quick kiss, then going off to the drunk idiot's room.

Gabriella took Troy's absence to quickly go back to her computer and respond to the blackmailer. She knew this could be a joke, but she wasn't willing to take the chance.

Freakymathgirl- Who is this?

URGOINDOWNGM- Let's just say a friend.

Freakymathgirl- A friend wouldn't blackmail me.

URGOINDOWNGM- I never said I was _your _friend.

Freakymathgirl- Then who are you? Only my friends know this screenname.

URGOINDOWNGM- I have ways of knowing.

Freakymathgirl- How do I know that you actually know my secret? How do I know you're not just lying?

URGOINDOWNGM- Well, do you have a secret? Everyone has secrets.

Freakymathgirl- If everyone has secrets then of course I have a secret. But there is no chance that I'm telling anything to you!

URGOINDOWNGM- Does your particular secret involve a Mitchell Matisse?

In that second Gabriella knew that this was no joke. This person really, really knew her secret.

URGOINDOWNGM- I'll take your pause as a yes. Now, do you want that secret to come out?

Freakymathgirl- No.

Gabriella couldn't believe that she had just been stupid enough to agree to blackmail. It was insane, but she knew that she didn't want her secret out. She didn't know what she had to do to please this "friend", but she knew that if this person was diabolical enough to find out her secret, then they would probably want to milk it for all it's worth and make Gabriella bend as far as she possibly could to keep it from getting out. And Gabriella was sure that she would be able to bend pretty far if it meant keeping her dirty little secret, just that, secret. And the possibilities of what she had to do to keep it that way were endless, which was a scary thought. And her fears were not eased by the constant ringing of Sharpay's phone. Her ring tone, "Material Girl" had been going off forever, but Gabriella was too distracted to do anything. And right about then she was about to scream at it to shut up, so she could concentrate on the task at hand. And again, her frustration must have shown, because Troy answered the phone.

"Sharpay's phone. Sharpay's drunk right now. Leave a message." he said pretending to be an answering machine.

"Okay, will do." he said into the phone before hanging up.

"What was that all about?" Gabriella asked as she was rubbing her temples.

"Just one of Sharpay's skanky Hollywood friends. You alright?" Troy asked, yet again.

"Yeah, just a headache. I think once Sharpay stops vomiting it will be better." she answered. And as if on cue, Sharpay started throwing up again, and Troy went back to her room to make sure she was okay.

Once Troy left, Gabriella was snapped from trying desperately hard to suppress her emotions, by the sound of receiving another IM.

URGOINDOWNGM- You will receive further instructions later.


	3. Secret's Deadline

Gabriella was lying on the couch, her dreams taking her into a nightmare about Mitchell Matisse.

"Gaby. Gaby." Troy said gently shaking her awake.

"Yeah." she said groggily.

"I've gotta go to practice." he answered. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Gabriella answered.

"Okay. Bye." he said before kissing her quickly and taking off.

"I love you!" he shouted on his way out.

"Love you too!" Gabriella replied.

After Troy's departure, Gabriella got up and did her normal morning routine of getting ready and looking at the days itinerary. She had actually forgotten about the blackmailer incident last night.

"We've got a photo shoot." Sharpay answered before Gabriella could read the sheet of paper she was holding telling her the day's activities.

"Okay." Gabriella answered. "Are you feeling better?"

"I guess. Getting drunk is the fun part, but the hangover sucks beyond reason." Sharpay answered.

"Then why don't you just stop drinking?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, right!" Sharpay said with a laugh. "Wanna hit the clubs with me tonight?"

"No, I'm heading to Troy's basketball game. You wanna come?"

"A basketball game? Not this chica." Sharpay answered. Then her phone rang, her ringtone "Material Girl" playing yet again.

"Yeah?" she said into the phone. "I think that is pure genius! Yeah, I'm totally onboard. Let's put that plan into action!"

"So, what genius plan do you have under wraps Sharpay?" Gabriella asked Sharpay after she hung up the phone, her curiosity kicking in

"You know Bridget Williams?" Sharpay asked. Gabriella knew who Bridget was, Bridget was friends with one of Gabriella's best friends Veronica Anderson. Veronica helped Gabriella and Troy get back together last year after the whole Josh Walters incident. Bridget, on the other hand, only managed to help get Sharpay drunk.

"Yeah, I know Bridget." Gabriella said disapprovingly.

"Well, she has concocted a plan to get me a new boyfriend. Okay, I mostly concocted it, but she gave me a brilliant idea. Which of course I'm taking credit for." Sharpay answered.

"Oh, someone's trying to make a little love connection." Gabriella commented. "Who's the guy?"

"You know him." Sharpay replied.

"Well," Gabriella said impatiently.

"You'll find out who he is eventually. Once I snag him for myself!" Sharpay said excitedly.

"Ooo," Sharpay continued. "But to get him I need to clean up my image a bit. Is that invitation for me to tag along to the game still open?"

"It's always open. And good for you Sharpay, I'm glad you wanna have some good wholesome fun!" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, that's me, completely wholesome." she said sarcastically.

"Come on, we're gonna be late for the photo shoot." Gabriella said before her cell phone started ringing and she ran to answer it.

"Hello?" Gabriella said.

"Break up with Troy Bolton by noon today or the world finds out about Mitchell Matisse." a muffled voice said. It was the blackmailer. Gabriella just stood there frozen. She had completely forgotten about the blackmailer until they called. Now, the odd and frightening rrealization that her memory of the night before wasn't a dream was kicking in. They want me to break up with Troy? Gabriella thought. Her heart breaking at the thought of what she had to do.

"Who is this?" she finally managed to ask. There was no reply.

"Who is this?" she repeated a little hysterically.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sharpay asked, making Gabriella jump. Gabriella just shook her head. Sharpay knew that something was wrong and decided to take the phone and find out for herself.

"Who is this?" she demanded in her toughest voice that would even make Miss Darbus run and hide.

"Noon." was the only reply. Then there was a click on the other end of the line.

"They hung up." Sharpay said, throwing the phone against a pillow.

"Gaby, who was that. They sounded kinda creepy." Sharpay continued.

"Wait a minute," Gabriella said realizing something.

She ran over to the pillow that Sharpay threw the phone against.

"I have caller ID. I'll just call back the number and figure out who it is." Gabriella said, hitting the redial button.

"Hello?" a man's voice said.

"Who is this?" Gabriella shouted.

"Whoa, chill out dude. This is a payphone." the guy said before hanging up.

"Well?" Sharpay asked.

"Payphone." Gabriella answered.

"Okay, weird. Now what is going on?" Sharpay asked overwhelmed.

"I think that was the person who's been blackmailing me." Gabriella quickly and quietly said.

"What?" Sharpay screeched instantly. "Blackmailing you?"

"Yeah, and they want me to break up with Troy." Gabriella cried out, trying not to think about it.

"By noon." she added.

"That's insane! Or what?" Sharpay asked.

"Remember I told you about that guy Mitchell Matisse?" Gabriella asked.

"Oh," Sharpay gasped. "They wouldn't!"

"Yeah, apparently they would." Gabriella said putting her head into her hands.

"That is so diabolical! It's unbelievable! How would they ever find out? I mean doesn't only your mom know? No one else knows, other than me, and I only got you to spill the one night I got you drunk." Sharpay said.

"Never again." Gabriella mumbled about the night of alcohol and her poor choice in judgement. But afer revealing her deepest darkest secret to Sharpay, Gabriella felt a little relieved. She had never told anyone else about that, and now she had a someone to talk it about. But it's not actually like she could remember telling Sharpay that. She woke up in the morning with no recollection of the night before, so Sharpay brought it up because it was so huge.

Gabriella went over her suspects. Her mom would never blackmail her, and Sharpay was throwing up in the bathroom when Gabriella got the first IM. And then Sharpay was the one trying to get information out of the mysterious caller when she got the phone call from the payphone. Sharpay had an alibi and seemed genuinely concerned, so Gabriella was able to rule her out on her list of suspects. Who could it be?

"My old school knows." Gabriella finally said after much thought. "I mean it's sealed, but if there was some school official around when it happened, they could remember me."

"Gaby," Sharpay began, now sitting down next to her friend.

"I can't break up with Troy!" Gabriella shouted.

"Well, maybe you should." Sharpay said.

"What! Why would you say such a thing?" Gabriella cried.

"All I'm saying is break up with Troy by the noon deadline and the blackmailer will stop. Then you can send the cops or a lawyer on the case and they will crack it, and you and Troy can get back together. Just tell him about the blackmailer thing and to keep it hush, hush. It will be fine." Sharpay explained.

"I can't. He can't find out what happened. He just can't!" Gabriella said, now becoming glassy eyed.

"Okay, then what do you want to do? I can't think of anything else." Sharpay said. "Oh, my God!"

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"It's 11:58!" Sharpay shouted.

"Oh, God!" Gabriella cried.

"Relax, relax. Just call Troy and I'll feed you a lie. Do it! Now!" Sharpay dictated.

"Okay, okay." Gabriella said hurriedly, and then she called Troy's cell phone.

The phone kept ringing and ringing, but after the third ring Gabriella knew there would be no answer. Troy was at practice, he always kept his cell phone off at practice. And practice didn't end until 3 PM.

"Well?" Sharpay said exasperated.

"He's not picking up!" Gabriella cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she looked at the clock. 12:00 PM, deadline.

* * *

_I'll try and add more later. Pretty soon you will find out what Gaby's secret is! So, please keep reading. And review, review, review!!!_


	4. Secrets Revealed

_Thanks for the reviews. Here's another part. And give what I'm gonna write this chapter a chance._

* * *

The hands on the clock showed that the time was 12 PM.

"Oh, God." was all Gabriella could say. Sharpay came over and draped her arm around her friend's shoulder to console her.

"Hey," Sharpay began. By now the tears rolling down Gabriella's face wouldn't stop. The act of crying was causing Gabriella to take sudden sharp intakes of breath. Sharpay thought it looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. And that was exactly what was happening. Gabriella felt like she couldn't breathe, like there was something in her throat blocking the airways. And it felt like a giant elephant was sitting on her chest, causing pain and making her breathing even harder.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." she said, feeling a sudden wave of nausea coming on.

Gabriella stumbled her way to the bathroom and vomited out of fear. Then she sank onto the ground, feeling slightly less burdened than before, but left with the weakened feeling that throwing up always gives you.

"You're really freaking out about this aren't you?" Sharpay said, getting a wash cloth to clean Gabriella up, just like Troy has done for her practically every night while Gabriella was sitting on the couch mindlessly doing something or another.

"Me? Freaking out? Oh, what tipped you off?" Gabriella asked sarcastically.

"Gaby," Sharpay said, giving Gabriella the towel. "It can't possibly be as bad as you think."

"Yeah it can." Gabriella said, trying to suppress even more nausea.

"Listen, if my career can survive all the stupid choices I have made, yours can definitely survive Mitchell Matisse." Sharpay said, now pouring Gabriella a very small cup of water to wash the vomit taste out of her mouth yet.

"I can't drink anything yet." Gabriella said pushing the water away.

"Gaby, you'll be fine." Sharpay said sitting down next to her.

"How about Troy?" Gabriella asked, her eyes begging Sharpay to tell her that Troy wouldn't even give this a second thought.

"Gaby, Troy's a great guy." Sharpay answered.

"Yeah, but no guy is great enough to put up with all the crap I've put him through. What about the Josh Walters incident?"

"That wasn't your fault, that was Josh Walters' fault."

"Okay, then what about the fact that I won't even sleep with him. And after he hears that I slept with Mitchell Matisse, he'll be left wondering. God, he's gonna think I'm a slut." Gabriella cried.

"I'm sure if you tell him the whole story everything will be fine." Sharpay said.

"No, no it won't. Maybe, maybe the blackmailer will think I broke up with Troy if I just don't go to his basketball game or something. I mean, how can they know if I broke up with him by noon? Breakups usually take at least two weeks to leak out to the media. I probably have two weeks to stall for time. I'll talk to Chip about it." Gabriella said, feeling a little better. She made it a mental note that she absolutely, positively needed to call Chip, her manager, and tell him to get every person he has on this case.

"Come on," Sharpay said getting up. "We're already late for the photo shoot. Let's just clean you up and add some color to your face. We have to keep up appearances."

"Sharpay," Gabriella said. "Thanks, for everything. You really are a great friend."

"Oh, trust me. It's my pleasure." Sharpay answered in an overly saccharine way. "Now, seriously, you look horrible. I can't be seen in public with you. Let's get to the beautification station." Sharpay said pointing to her vanity.

"Now, tell me, what draws your eye?" she asked.

"Um, the bubble gum lip gloss." Gabriella answered.

"But that color doesn't go with your skin tone."

"I know, but it tastes _so _good!" Gabriella gushed.

"I know, right!" Sharpay squeaked. "See, hanging with your best friend, a photo shoot, and bubble gum lipgloss. Things are looking up already!"

* * *

Gabriella and Sharpay were walking onto the set of their photo shoot.

"I know, I know, we're late. But it takes time to look this good." Sharpay said flaunting her outfit for the entire staff to see.

"Okay, let's go." the manager of the shoot said, motioning the girls to the area where all the film equipment and a very vivacious looking photographer was standing.

"Oh, this is absolutely fabulous! Fab-u-lous has arrived!" the photographer shouted out, running up to Sharpay and giving her air kisses, and then some to Gabriella.

"Sharpay, you look fabulous as usual." she said.

"Oh, this old thing. I know, I look great. But come on, is there any other way to look?" Sharpay answered.

"Oh, of course not." the photographer, who's name is Vivica Vitello said. "Oh, and Gabriella. You look absolutely radiant. But that lipgloss doesn't go with your skin tone."

"I've been told." Gabriella said.

"Oh," Vivica said, patting Gabriella's shoulder. "If you ever need anything, you know who to call. Okay? Okay."

"Um," Gabriella said, about to ask what Vivica meant by that comment, but then Chip came rushing by.

"Oh, Chip. I was going to call you." Gabriella said, running up to Chip.

"Don't worry. I have to whole Mitchell Matisse scandal under control." Chip said a little breathlessly. He knew, he knew! How did he know? Did the blackmailer tell everyone already? Gabriella looked around all panicky, but Sharpay instantly came up to her.

"No need to get all vomity again. I told Chip." Sharpay said, then she started waving Chip off. "Chip, I've got this all under control, you may go."

Chip looked like he had something else to say, but Sharpay gave him a look and he rushed off with his cell phone pressed up against his ear, talking wildly into it.

"When did you tell him?" Gabriella asked.

"I called him when you were getting changed. Don't worry, I'm sure that Chip will keep this out of the news." Sharpay said. "Come on, let's go. I wanna see what fabulous outfit they have picked out for me!"

But Gabriella stood there hesitating.

"It's Chip. He would never leak any of this to the news. You're secret is safe. He has every guy he has on it. Just relax and have fun today. Worry tomorrow. Okay?" Sharpay said sympathetically.

"Okay." Gabriella said halfheartedly, reluctantly following Sharpay off to wardrobe.

* * *

"Wasn't that fun?" Sharpay said, sliding the card that opened the lock on her and Gabriella's hotel room door.

"Yeah. I have to admit, I am feeling a lot better. Though my ankle is killing me." Gabriella said.

"Well, it's not my fault that you toppled over in those high heeled shoes!" Sharpay said.

"Come on, they were, like, six inches! That's huge!" Gabriella giggled out, and Sharpay laughed back.

"Well, I'm glad you two are having such a laughfest." said a voice from inside the girls hotel room.

"Troy? What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked, surprised to see her boyfriend in her apartment. Were they supposed to do something tonight? Gabriella thought he would be training for the game.

"Sharpay, can Gabriella and I talk alone?" Troy asked.

"Oh, um, sure." Sharpay said awkwardly shooting Gabriella a "what the heck is going on" kind of look.

"So, um, what's up?" Gabriella asked once Sharpay vacated the area.

"I got a call from my agent today who said that I should turn on The Entertainment News Hour." Troy said, picking up the TV remote and turning the televison on to the channel that showed The Entertainment News Hour.

"I don't get it. What's going on?" Gabriella asked, a feeling of foreboding growing in her stomach.

"Tonight on The Entertainment News Hour, we have learned that Hollywood's Teen of Clean, Gabriella Montez, isn't as clean as we all thought." the host of the show said. "After the break you will learn about how Gabriella has a connection with a man in prison named Mitchell Matisse." the reporter said.

Troy muted the TV when it went to a commercial break. He just sat down on the couch and sighed.

"So, you're not gonna say _anything_?" he asked, after a few moments of silence. What could Gabriella say. Nothing but shock was all she could feel. She managed to stifle another panic attack, but that was probably only because she was feeling pure shock and terror and had no room for any other emotions.

"Gaby, how could you?" Troy asked, getting up. Gabriella just stood there. She heard what Troy was saying, but her brain wasn't really processing the words.

"I mean, this Mitchell Matisse guy!" he shouted.

"Troy," she finally said. "There is so much more to the story than whatever you are hearing." Gabriella said, the shock out the door, now countless tears streaming down her cheeks and mascara running down her face.

"More to the story? There better be. I mean what the hell were you thinking?" he asked. "Mitchell Matisse was your teacher!"

"Troy, I know, but you don't know the whole story." she repeated.

"What else do I need to know. You won't have sex with me, your boyfriend, but you had sex with your _teacher_!" Troy yelled, disgusted.

"Troy, God, Troy! Will you just shut up and listen to me?" Gabriella cried.

"Oh, and what will you say?" Troy asked.

"Listen," she pleaded. "I know that sleeping with Mitchell was stupid."

"Oh, so you call him Mitchell, not Mr. Matisse?"

"Troy, it was stupid. But it made sense at the time." Gabriella said.

"Oh, and why did it do that?"

"Listen, my dad was an alcoholic. I had no admirable adult male figure in my life. The only guy adult male I'd ever really known was my dad, and he didn't love me enough to stop drinking. Then Mitchell came into my life and told me that he cared. And that's what I needed the most. So, yeah, I let him trick me into sleeping with him. I got played and I know that now, but then all I needed was someone who cared. I was fourteen, it never occurred to me that he was a pervert." Gabriella tearfully explained.

"And gave you the realization that he was a pervert?" Troy asked, calm now, but not even able to look at Gabriella.

"I thought I was pregnant," Gabriella began, now crying even harder. "I said I wanted to have the baby with him because I loved him. He told me to get an abortion and call him when we could have sex again. After that I realized he didn't ever care for me, so I ended things. But, he didn't take it so well, and he tried to have sex with me again and I fought back, so he raped me. That's when I told my mom, and she took me to the hospital and thank God they found out that I wasn't pregnant and it was a false alarm. Then my mom called the police and now Mitchell's in jail. Okay? Enough of an explanation for you?" she asked.

Gabriella's boyfriend had no idea how hard that was for her to explain. The one time in her life she did something stupid, it had gotten her heart broken, her trust shattered, and her raped. That's why she never slept with Troy or any other guy. It was hard enough for her to trust Troy after what happened with Mitchell, she never trusted any of her other boyfriends after that, but she could trust Troy. He just had this disarming quality about him, and a way of holding her in his arms and making her feel perfectly safe. Giving him her heart was tough enough, so giving him her body was something even more difficult since after that she is totally and completely his. After sex, she will have no other defenses, he would have everything. And she wasn't ready to give him that yet. But the fact that she gave that to Mitchell and not to Troy doesn't make her look too good.

Troy just stood there, still not looking at her.

"Troy, I'm sorry. I didn't know what he was doing was wrong. I just didn't know." she cried.

"Because you loved him?" Troy asked. He didn't give Gabriella a chance to answer. "God, Gaby, you were in love with _that_! You slept with _that_!"

"Troy," Gabriella said, coming closer to Troy and putting her hands in his hands. He just pushed them away like her hands were on fire and burned his.

"I can't do this." Troy said before walking out. Leaving his key to her room on the table and slamming the door.

* * *

_Don't hate me for this. But there is more, a lot more. Keep reading, it will get less depressing. This is just the beginning of the story. So please keep reading for more and please review!!!!_


	5. Even More Secrets Revealed

* * *

Gabriella stood silently and still in the room staring at the key that Troy left on the table. She had no more room for emotion, she felt too much in the past twenty four hours, she knew that if she didn't just shut out every ounce of sadness, loss, fear, and regret out, she will completely lose herself in the pain. So she stayed stoic, just staring at the keys. Knowing that Troy had left, and probably for good, but not feeling anything about it. Just armed with the knowledge of her loss, deprived of the emotion behind it.

But that was how she had lived her life since that fateful day when she was raped. After that, emotions stopped mattering. Only the facts mattered. Believe it or not Gabriella never had the best grades before then. Sure the brain power was there, but her follow through was lacking. But after that horrid day, the only way she could accept that she was raped was to not let it get to her. Learn all the facts, and ignore the emotions. Any therapist will tell you that's a horrible way to deal with pain, but that's exactly what Gabriella did.

Pretty soon, all that mattered in school were grades, and math. Math was all equations and facts, there were no emotions behind there. Her boyfriends or friends, sure she had them, but she kept herself emotionally at a distance. And to make up for that hole in her heart that was emotion, she poured in facts so she didn't feel so empty.

Then when she had to move to a new town (her first move was after the Mitchell Matisse scandal, she couldn't stay in that town), she would move there for a little while, make friends, then have to leave. After multiple moves like this, she pushed people away even more, because they would eventually be taken away. Then her mother told her that there was only one more move left until she graduated. And that move brought her to East High. Sure she tried her normal defenses, but Troy Bolton had some affect that made all of them disappear. Yeah, he pulled some stunts, but Troy was still Troy and there was no one like him. Plus, she always had Taylor, Kelsi, Chad, and everyone else she cared about to fall back on. And they all cared about her too, truly cared, all of Gabriella's defenses couldn't hide that fact from her. But Troy cared the most, and she cared back.

Gabriella and Troy had a romance made for the movies. From there first meeting singing at the New Years Eve Party, to their chance meeting again at East High. Then to their budding romance after the "Twinkle Town" production. Finally, the first time he told her he loved her on vacation. That was the first time she cried from joy over a guy. And the first time she finally felt safe with a guy. And then him letting her move to Hollywood, and staying around even after all the lies told by Josh Walters. To top it all off, he helped her out with Sharpay, something she couldn't face on her own.

They had something you never found in teenagers, or in most adults, and that was true love. At least that's what Gabriella thought it was. But she was wrong, just like she was wrong about Mitchell Matisse. But she was so sure that after everything they'd been through together, Troy would stay throughout anything. But he hears about Mitchell and bolts. Gabriella poured out her heart and told him what she never openly told anyone else, and he just dropped the keys on the coffee table and left. He didn't even possess any understanding of what Gabriella was going through, a guy so caring couldn't even care about Gabriella's feelings. And to believe she had tried all these years to suppress those feelings, and when she finally laid them all out for Troy, he ditched her.

What Gabriella didn't realize is, Troy had feelings too. But she completely overlooked them. While Gabriella walked away from the keys, locked herself in her room, and just stared at the wall, she didn't realize that Troy was doing the same exact thing in his apartment. Just staring at a wall.

Finally the ring tone of "Get'cha Head In the Game" zapped Troy back to reality.

"Yeah?" he said not really caring who was on the phone, just wanting to be left alone and sulk.

"Dude!" Chad's voice shouted, blaring into the phone. "I was just watching TV and they said that Gaby slept with her teacher when she was friggin' fourteen! Can you believe that? I mean, Gaby! Come on, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction." was Troy's reply.

"What!" Chad yelled, again. "Please tell me that's not true?"

"Yup, it most definitely is." Troy said, laying down on his bed now.

"You know for sure?" Chad asked.

"Heard it straight from her mouth." Troy replied.

"Wow, her personal life getting all over the news. How is she taking it?" Chad asked, genuinely concerned.

"Not a clue." Troy answered curtly.

"What the hell, man? You're not with her right now?" Chad asked shocked.

"You expect me to stay after that?" Troy asked.

"Whoa," Chad said, not yelling this time, but sounding rather serious. "You broke up with her?"

"Yeah. I guess I did." Troy answered.

"If all the news was saying is true, she was raped by this guy. You don't think that brings back bad memories? Why the hell would you break up with her? She really needs you. And so she made a mistake, are you really gonna let that get in the way of how much you love her?" Chad asked, defending Gabriella.

"What about my feelings?" Troy asked angrily. "I mean, she could've told me!"

"Told you that she was raped? I don't think that's something she would tell anyone. I mean, Taylor didn't know, and she's a girl. I think that's a chick thing to talk about." Chad answered.

"No, about her father." Troy replied, the truth about the reason for his departure finally coming out.

"What are you talking about?"

"He was an alcoholic, and so is Sharpay. I mean, I knew something was wrong but she never told me, until she explained what motivated her to sleep with a friggin' pedophile. And I knew something was bugging her about Sharpay, I just couldn't figure it out. And it's because of her father. But she didn't tell me. This has been going on for months and she couldn't tell me." Troy said, truly sad and extremely guilty that he couldn't figure out what was going on. That was mostly the reason he left, not Mitchell Matisse. Her lies about her father.

"Is her being scared really a reason to break up with her?" Chad asked.

"Look, Man, I can't explain it, okay? The fact that she slept with this Mitchell Matisse guy, who was her _teacher_ was strike one. The fact that she didn't ever tell me about it and kept it a huge secret was strike two. And the fact that she couldn't trust me enough to tell me about her father, hurts even more than anything with Mitchell Matisse. I trusted her completely and she didn't give that to me. So, strike three, I'm out." Troy said solemnly.

"You're sure about this? I mean, you might not get her back this time if you change your mind." Chad said severely.

"I love her and after all this, I'm not sure she feels the same. That may have just sounded like a chick statement, but my feelings are involved too, and I just can't deal with them getting stomped on repeatedly. And she doesn't even know that's what she's doing. Some girlfriend." Troy said. Chad didn't reply, he knew nothing he said could fix this.

"I wish there was something I could say to fix this." Sharpay said, sitting down next to Gabriella.

"There's not." she replied. "Troy left his keys. It's over."

"You don't know that for sure." Sharpay said.

"Yeah, I do." replied Gabriella. "I'm gonna get something to eat. You hungry?" she asked, again shutting out her emotions.

"No," Sharpay answered. Gabriella just shrugged her shoulders and left for the kitchen. Then Sharpay shut the door and ripped out her cell phone.

"Bridget," she said into the phone.

"Yeah?" the voice on the other side replied excitedly.

"Poor Gaby, Troy broke up with her." Sharpay said with fake sympathy.

"It worked!" Bridget shouted.

"Like a charm." Sharpay replied. "Gaby has no idea who the blackmailer is."

"Good, so she doesn't know it was me on the phone." Bridget said relieved.

"Of course she doesn't. And I leaked it out to the news, Troy broke up with her,"

"And now, you can steal him for yourself." Bridget finished.

"Exactly. Sharpay and Troy, I love it!" Sharpay squeaked. "Now, time to reel in the bait."

"God, you two will make a perfect couple. This whole blackmail plan that you came up with is absolutely brilliant. You are gonna get Troy for yourself! And Gaby will never even see it coming. You're a genius."

"I know, right?" Sharpay said. "She's coming, got to go. Ciao for now."

This was too easy, Sharpay thought.


	6. Secrets Distorted

**I'm still sick so this is still short. Anyway, I haven't forgotten about this story or any others, I'm just tired so I'm taking my time. Please read and review, I could use the encouragment!**

* * *

"Gaby," Sharpay said the morning after Gabriella and Troy's breakup.

"Yeah?" Gabriella mindlessly answered as she stirred her spoon around in her cereal bowl, not actually eating anything. Just using the spoon as a distraction.

"Are you okay?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Gabriella lied. "Just normal post breakup stuff, but no worries."

"You're not eating." Sharpay commented. The fact that Gabriella wasn't eating at all vexed her. Gaby was already a lot skinnier than Sharpay and Sharpay was struggling to keep her perfect appearance up to par with Gaby. Now Gaby is getting even skinnier, how much more dieting could Sharpay do? Aren't people supposed to binge eat after breakups?

"I'm just saying, Troy's your first love." Sharpay said.

"I know," Gabriella replied, not needing a reminder.

"And now he's gone. Forever." Sharpay said putting emphasis on the word forever.

"I know." Gabriella repeated.

"If there was ever a time to wallow, now would be a good time." Sharpay said. "You know, curl up on the couch, bury your face in a bowl of ice cream with tons of tissues nearby. It's what all girls do."

"Not me," Gabriella replied. "We have to start promoting the album and I have way too much damage control to do. I just don't have the time to sulk. Nor do I want to."

Sharpay sighed in frustration. Ruining Gabriella's relationship was easy enough, getting her drunk one night, drunk enough to spill her deepest darkest secret was way too simple. Then using that secret against her to ruin her reputation and Troy, was much easier. Not to mention far more fun. But to ruin everything else Gabriella had going for her would be far more difficult. Grant it, Gabriella's world didn't have much left in it, but Sharpay knew that whatever Gabriella did still have, she would hold onto for dear life. The easy part of betrayal was easy, now it was time to pull out some more dirty tricks.

"I have a theory." Sharpay began. Gabriella looked up from her food (which was still untouched).

"About?" Gabriella asked, not really in the mood to hear anything Sharpay has to say. She preferred thinking about how she was going to make up for all the mistakes she made, instead of hearing one of Sharpay's insane theories about why Lindsay Lohan was more famous than her.

"Who told everyone the whole Mitchell Matisse thing?" Sharpay answered.

"I hadn't thought about that." Gabriella said. She was so wrapped up in Troy she didn't even stop to think about who could have caused this fiasco.

"I think," Sharpay said thoughtfully, "That it was Chip."

"Chip!" Gabriella said, practically falling out of her seat at the thought of Chip betraying her.

"I don't think so." Gabriella finally said. "Why would Chip do that?"

"Well, you're smart. Look at it logically. Chip is a business man. Do you know how much he would have been paid for this juicy secret?" Sharpay said.

"That would be violating our privacy contract." Gabriella replied.

"Like that would matter!" Sharpay exclaimed. "Think about it, if he could turn your career around after this scandal, he will be the most requested manager in Hollywood! And if he can't, he still gets the money that the entertainment tabloids paid him. It's a win-win for him."

Gabriella the realized that Sharpay might actually have a point. What does Chip have to lose?

"Maybe your right," Gabriella finally said. "But I'm not gonna do anything rash until I know for sure."

"I don't mean fire him. But I think you should at least confront him about this! Why put your entire future in the hands of a man who could easily backstab you even more?" Sharpay said, expertly shifting the blame off of herself and onto someone else. "I mean, the story did leak right after he found out."

"Yeah," Gabriella said, now looking at the time line.

"I just feel so responsible!" Sharpay finally said, bursting out into fake, but very believable tears.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked, putting down the spoon that she was playing with and going over to comfort her friend.

"I told Chip about this, and if I didn't, you're image would be squeaky clean and you and Troy would still be together. I am just so sorry!" Sharpay said, collapsing into Gabriella's arms.

"It's okay Sharpay," she said, patting her friend's back. "You couldn't have known."

"But I should have." Sharpay moped.

"It'll all get worked out. I'll talk to Chip about it. I mean, it only makes sense that he did it, so I'll put him in his place. It'll all work out." Gabriella decided.

"Okay, thank you." Sharpay said, looking up at Gabriella and wiping the tears from her eyes. "And I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." Gabriella answered. "I'll even confront the weasel right now." Gabriella said, whipping out her cell phone and hit speed dial to call Chip.

Then Gabriella went into her room so she could have some privacy during the phone call. She made one last glance back at Sharpay who began to feign tears again. Once Gabriella was locked in her room and out of sight, Sharpay whipped out her makeup compact, reapplied her makeup and broke into a smile. Thank God for acting!


	7. The Secret Gift of Persuasion

**This is an important but kinda boring part of the story that I had to get out of the way. I would have attached it to another chapter, but A- I'm too tired to write a chapter as long as the chapter it would have to be to fit everything I want in. And B- So much family stuff, they barely let me get through a paragraph of this. But I promise that I will update all my stories more often, so just bare with me.**

* * *

"Chip," Gabriella said. "I just wanna know the truth."

"And I am giving it to you!" Chip shouted from the other end of the phone line.

"Okay, okay, I must have jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry." Gabriella lied, not exactly sure if she believed Chip was innocent or not.

"Just try and stay sane through out all of this. You'll be fine." Chip reassured her.

"Okay," Gabriella said half heartedly.

"Now, I have some damage control to do." Chip said before hanging up.

Gabriella was left sitting in her room, trying to figure out who did this. Chip's response seemed truly innocent and baffled, but that could have been an act. Everything in Hollywood was a giant act. Who is she to trust?

"Gabriella?" Sharpay said, coming in, not bothering to knock on the door.

"Hey," Gabriella said, really not in the mood to talk, but in desperate need of some distraction. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering how your conversation with Chip went." Sharpay said, sitting on the bed next to Gabriella.

"He denied it." Gabriella said.

"Well of course he denied it!" Sharpay instantly exclaimed.

"But, oddly enough, I think I believe him." Gabriella decided. Sharpay's stomach dropped, this had to be fixed!

"Have you talked to Troy yet?" Sharpay asked, changing the subject.

"No," Gabriella said, a little tear streaming down her cheek. She tried to quickly brush it away, but Sharpay saw.

"You don't have to be strong all the time Gaby," she said, putting her arm around her friend. "You really miss him, don't you?"

Gabriella just weakly nodded, more salty tears coming down her face.

"I bet Troy misses you too." Sharpay said. Gabriella just shook her head.

"I don't think so. He was pretty adamant about his decision.

"Well, let me talk to him to see how he stands in all of this." Sharpay said. Gabriella shook her head even harder this time.

"No, Shar. I wanna talk to him." Gabriella said in between the water works. "I just wanna hear his voice so bad!"

"Well, call him. And if things don't work out, I'll talk some sense into the boy." Sharpay replied.

"You really think you can do that?" Gabriella asked, hoping with all of her heart that Sharpay would talk Troy into coming back to Gabriella.

"Trust me," Sharpay said smiling. "I'm the Queen of Persuasion."

Troy's phone suddenly began to ring, and he fumbled as he grabbed his phone of his dresser. He was too depressed to move, so he just laid in bed all day. He barely ate, and sleep was not an option.

"Hello?" he said, into the phone, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hey, Troy." said a solemn, yet strangely hopeful voice. It was Gabriella. Troy instantly hung up the phone.

He so badly wanted to talk to her and hear her voice but he knew that the second he got into a conversation with her, she would pull him right back into her trap. But Troy knew that he was too smart for that, so even if it hurt like hell, he was staying away.

"He hung up on me." Gabriella said, collapsing onto her bed and crying even more.

"There, there," Sharpay said, rubbing her friend's back. "It'll be okay."

After Gabriella calmed down, Sharpay decided that she should get to business. She had wasted too much time comforting Gabriella and had to get back to work. Now, she had to make a little phone call to Chip.

"Hello?" Chip said, sounding very frazzled.

"Chip, it's Shar!" Sharpay said in the perkiest and most welcoming voice that she could possibly muster. "Could you do me a little favor?"

"Anything, darling." Chip answered, sounding glad that it was Sharpay on the phone on not the other member of Fab-u-lous.

"Can you set up a meeting between me and Troy Bolton. But don't let him know he's talking to me, or he'll never agree. I just have to talk with him. Please?" Sharpay said sweetly.

"Of course, I'll work on it right away." Chip said about to hang up.

"Oh, Chip?" Sharpay said stopping him.

"Yes?"

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Gabriella." Sharpay began.

"Oh," Chip said, as though he knew nothing about it.

"I just think it's so wrong, what she said about you." Sharpay said. "We all know that our Chip, the Chip we know and love, would never do such a horrid thing."

"Yes, well, I didn't do anything, Sharpay. You know that right?" Chip said, defending himself.

"Why, of course!" Sharpay instantly replied. "I think it's just horrible that Gabriella is accusing you of leaking that story to the media when she was the one who did it herself!"

"What do you mean?" Chip asked, suddenly very confused.

"Oh, you didn't figure it out?" Sharpay said, continuing her lie. "Gabriella told me the entire thing yesterday. She didn't think you were getting her enough publicity so she sold the media her own story for some cash and some buzz about the group. Then she expected you to dig her out of the hole! But since the media is now portraying her as a slut instead of a victim, she's turning it around on you to make you the scapegoat for her screwups!"

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"It's just horrible isn't it?" Sharpay said, just ready to take her story one step further. "I wouldn't stand for this if I were you. I say, drop her as a client!"

"But how will you manage?" Chip asked, heavily considering Sharpay's suggestion.

"You didn't know? I'm leaving the group." Sharpay said.

This was met by a gasp from Chip's side of the line.

"I really don't need Gaby's bad reputation dragging me down. Besides, I think I'm more of a solo artist. That is why I was wondering if you would be my manager!" Sharpay said, well on her way to getting a jumpstart on her solo career.

"I think that's a marvelous idea!" Chip exclaimed.

"I think so too," Sharpay said, not capable of stifling her grin. "But when you give Gaby the bad news, don't tell her about me going solo. I think it would be only right if I told her myself." Sharpay explained. She only said that to cover for herself so Gabriella wouldn't figure out that this was all Sharpay's doing.

"Okay, dear." Chip said, sympathetic to Sharpay. "I'll break my side of the news now."

"Okay Chip," Sharpay said, pretending to be sad at the loss of Gabriella.

"Be strong, sweetie." Chip said.

"I'll try." Sharpay whimpered before hanging up.

With her ear against the wall Sharpay listened to Gabriella beg for Chip to stay her manager, but every time it sounded as though Gabriella was turned down. When all was said and done, Gabriella stepped out of her room to find Sharpay by her door.

"Were you listening?" Gabriella asked, with puffy eyes.

"I heard you crying I wanted to make sure everything was okay." Sharpay said.

"It's not!" Gabriella said. "Chip dropped us as clients! Now I have no one."

Gabriella said sobbing into Sharpay's shoulder as her 'friend' pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay, you have me." Sharpay consoled. For now.

* * *

**I know, I'm dragging out the Sharpay, Gabriella torture and I could've connected the last two chapters. But I'm too tired to, but writing this story relaxes me which is why I'm continuing it. Anyway, this is the last chapter where I have a lot of Sharpay-Gabriella torture going on, this little bit of info was important though. If you keep reading I would really appriciate it. And I've decided that for anyone who reviews, they get a sneak peek at the next chapter, which will be MUCH better. I promise. So, review!!!!**


	8. The Secret Comfort of a Wall

**Sorry it took so long to update. I reread some of my last few chapters and realized how much I HATED them. But to my readers, thanks for sticking with me through them. I hope this one is better. I'm writing the next chapter which will be a lot better than this one, but this is a major improvement. Please read, review, and enjoy.**

* * *

Troy Bolton let the basketball fly out of his hands and soar through the air in an attempt to swish it into the net. To most it would seem that the ball had effortlessly left his hands, but to Troy the basketball that always seemed so light was as heavy as the weights his coach forced him to lift as punishment for when he missed that shot and many more during practice that day.

"Bolton!" his coach said pulling him aside after he had finished lifting a grueling round of weights.

"Yeah," Troy grunted, putting the weights down and looking up at his coach's stern, yet in some way concerned face.

"You're not playing the game tonight." the coach finally said.

"What? Coach, please don't do that." Troy pleaded, his face falling. He really needed to play this game tonight.

"Son, you are an amazing player, and we would not have won as many games as we have without you. But a lot weighs on this game and I don't think your head is in it." the coach said. "You're skills seemed to have gone into hiding the past few days too. I think you should take a few days off and..."

"Don't." Troy said, standing up trying to stop his coach from talking. Troy had made the mistake of telling his entire basketball thing about his lack of closure with Gabriella and his inability to get over her. It was like he couldn't breathe without her by his side, and he was stupid enough to admit that to the guys and his coach who just so happened to be listening in on their conversations.

Troy only vented to his teammates because Chad and all of his other friends all thought that Gabriella was in the right not to confide everything that had happened to her to Troy. That she was trying to find closure herself and that Troy handled the situation horribly. Troy knew he did just that, but that was the last thing that he ever wanted to hear or admit. He wanted to hear that any sane guy would have ran just like him or have been hurt just like him. But all of his friends from East High were so close to Gabriella, they could not help but sympathizing with her. It was almost like Gabriella was the only one going through the breakup and Troy is living a life of nothing but bliss and joy. But his teammates who were partial to Troy not Gabriella, believed that Troy made a good choice and that Gabriella was dishonest. They realized that Troy was in pain too.

The flaw in having his teammates as confidantes was he was constantly around them, and they were constantly encouraging him to go out with other girls or just drop his entire life until he can move on. He just wanted to deal in his own way without anyone else budding in or telling him how to handle the situation.

The only thing that ever seemed to ease the pain was basketball. It was always an escape. He found himself picturing the ball he was dribbling to be Mitchell Matisse's face, which he was rapidly shoving to the ground over and over again, harder and harder, trying to inflict as much pain as possible. He would hope that his troubles would be released when he released the ball from his hands and prayed they would go away when it landed in the hoop. But his game was completely off, mostly because thoughts of Gabriella could never evade him, no matter how many hours he spent on the basketball court. Even though he was missing every shot he threw and always thought of Gaby, the act of playing basketball calmed him for a short time.

"Don't say it." Troy continued, talking to his coach. "Don't say I need a break, because I don't. Don't say I need to move on, because I already know that! Don't say I need a distraction because there is none. If there is one, it's basketball. Don't say anything you think is comforting me, because it's not. Just don't take the one comfort away."

The coach sighed, and ran his hands through his hair in a frustrated way. Finally he spoke. "Not this game, come to practice in a day and prove that you can do this. Until then, go home, Bolton." the coach said, hating to break the boy's heart anymore. As much as he tried to be a tough guy, he genuinely cared about all the players on his team. Especially, the young, moldable Bolton, who is trying to find his way in the world. But he had to do what was best for the game.

After Troy left the stadium where he had that dreadful practice, he went straight to his bedroom, not bothering to check the messages on his cell phone, not caring what anyone had to say. He lay on bed, not sleeping just staring at the walls. He'd been doing that a lot lately. So had Gabriella.

Everything seemed like a burden to Gabriella lately, every aspect of her life was a uphill battle. She tried to be strong and go through all of her day to day activities, but without Troy in her life she found all of them so hard. She found herself mindlessly staring at the walls of her room during the time that would have normally been spending with Troy.

She never wanted to leave her bed, surrounded by the four walls of her room, that unlike life and the people who blow through it, always remained with her. The walls always stayed in the same place. Sure, she could paint them but they would always remained sturdy and in place, the outside different, but the inside remaining unchanged. And they would never leave, they would never betray her, they would always be there when she comes back to his room. For some reason, the four walls that surrounded her when she woke gave Gabriella a sense of security she could not get from anything else, and she never wanted to get out of bed and leave them.

She could trust four walls more than the people in her life. Well, she was always able to trust Troy, but he hung up on her when she called, which means it's officially over. She needs to find someone new to trust. Sharpay had been helpful lately, Gabriella thought naively, she can be the person I trust.

What brought Gabriella to be laying in bed, reflecting with the walls of her room was the fact that Sharpay was out going to talk to Troy. Sharpay insisted that after a talk with her, Troy would come running back to her in a heartbeat. But Gabriella didn't believe it, she knew that the hole she had dug herself into couldn't be resolved by Sharpay batting her eyelashes, putting on a sweet act. So, she stayed in bed unless she was called upon to leave, just like Troy.

"Troy, just for tonight can you leave the house and do something other than mope?" Troy's agent asked. Troy may have been an athlete, but he was an athlete that the media loved and he seemed to have just disappeared off the face of the earth. It was understandable the first few days after the Gabriella Montez scandal for him to lay low, but it had been three weeks since then and the press has finally died down. It was time for him to get a move on with his life.

"I had plans for tonight, remember?" Troy reminded. "That basketball game the coach banished me from."

"Troy, just one interview for this magazine, please?" the agent asked. "Truthfully, you could use it right about now. Everyone thinks you killed yourself over this or something, you've been gone so long."

"Tell them to turn on the TV and watch some basketball." Troy said. "Oh, wait, they can't because I'm not playing."

"Which will only feed on their fantasy that you are coming apart at the seams."

Troy was coming apart at the seems, but he will never admit that to his agent.

"One interview and they promised not to ask anything about Gabriella. It's about your basketball and your career."

"And if they mention Gabriella?"

"Walk out." the agent replied. "You need this Troy." he reminded.

"Only if it'll get you off my back." Troy finally said, after a heavy sigh.

"Absolutely." was replied quickly. "The meeting is to happen in twenty minutes at The Ivy."

"I'm leaving now." Troy said before clicking his phone shut and throwing on some clothes, not really caring that it wasn't well put together and he still reeked from basketball practice.

Troy entered the Ivy and the waiter who he normally saw and who normally served him, rushed him over to the table that he always eats at, while Troy was trying to avoid the paparazzi who were outside snapping pictures.

"Um, I'm actually meeting someone. Has anyone arrived asking for me?" Troy asked.

"Yes, yes." the rather short and slightly balding waiter asked. "She is sitting at your usual table."

"Oh, thanks." Troy said, before he could turn around to sit down at the table he heard a high pitched, feminine voice.

"Waiter?" the girl asked. "I'm sure that Mr. Bolton can seat himself. You are dismissed."

Troy recognized that voice the second he heard it and it made him wish he were back in his room, back in New Mexico, anywhere but here.

"Sharpay," Troy said, turning around to face his bubbly, blonde, over-glitzed...friend? Was she a friend anymore? She was always Zeke's girlfriend and Troy put up with her because of that. Then when they broke up she was Gabriella's friend that Troy had to put up with. But now that he and Gabriella are over, can you even call him and Sharpay friends? And what is she doing here?

"Troysie," Sharpay said in an overly saccharine way, silently disapproving of his unkept look. "Are you going to sit down?"

"Um," Troy stumbled, looking for the right words. All he knew was that there was no way he was getting roped back into Gabriella's life, and with Sharpay's persuasion she was a one way ticket back to Gabriella Land. "Why?" he finally asked, then realizing how stupid and insulting that just sounded.

Sharpay looked a little taken aback then said, "Waiter? Why are you still here?"

The waiter walked off, while muttering under his breath "Celebrities, they think they rule the world."

"Sharpay, I've got an interview." Troy finally said. Sharpay just silently giggled.

"I am your interview genius." Sharpay said, still laughing a little. He really was so cute when he was clueless. "Now sit."

"Um,"

"Trust me, it'll be worth your while." Sharpay said, flashing Troy a million dollar smile. Troy didn't know why, but he decided to sit down next to her. The table they were at was more of a very fancy booth in which Troy distanced himself from Sharpay as much as possible. Sharpay simply slid in closer until she was right next to Troy.

"This is nice." she said, twirling her pink diamond ring around, once she was seated in the place she wanted. Troy didn't reply, he was feeling very uncomfortable at the moment. "Two old friend's becoming reacquainted. I've missed you Troy." Sharpay looked at Troy expectantly, waiting for Troy to say the exact same back. Troy picked up on that.

"Yeah, I've missed you too." he said quietly, not making eye contact and looking down at his menu. What was she up to?

"It's a shame that this thing with Gabriella has torn everyone in our little group apart." Sharpay commented after ordering an alcohol filled drink. Normally Troy would've tried to talk her out of it or told the waiter that she was only seventeen, but he didn't have the energy tonight. Beside's, Sharpay gets what Sharpay wants. And right now Sharpay wants Troy. She told Gabriella that she would trick Troy into meeting her here to get the two lovebirds back together, but reuniting Gaby with Troy was the last thing on her mind. "But Gaby is working so hard to regain her title of Queen of Clean back, I doubt that she has even noticed the difference."

Troy's throat all of the sudden got really tight at the mention of Gabriella and he felt like he was punched in the stomach when Sharpay said she probably didn't even 'noticed the difference'. "Can we not talk about Gabriella?" Troy asked.

Sharpay frowned a little, her bright, pink, shiny lip gloss accented in the pout. "She hurt you didn't she?" Sharpay said, shaking her head back and forth.

"Sharpay, I said I didn't want to talk about it." Troy said, longing for the drink that Sharpay was now sipping on.

"Troy, she lied." Sharpay continued. "I can't imagine what it must have felt like when the love of your life can't even trust you when you trust her completely."

Normally, Troy would have gotten up and walked out. And if it was a guy that said this, he probably would have punched him in the face. But at the moment, he was overcome with sadness, he felt numb, and unable to move even if he wanted to.

"Gaby treated you horribly." Sharpay said leaning in closer to Troy. He suddenly began to feel less sadness and more uncomfortable than he already was. When Troy first sat down he sat as far away from Sharpay as possible. Can the girl not take a hint? He wanted her to keep her distance.

"Not as bad as everyone thinks." Troy said automatically, feeling the need to say something to defend Gabriella even though he didn't intend to or want to. Then he began to inch away from Sharpay even more, but before he could Sharpay put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked, about ready to push her away, but before he could Sharpay's lips pressed into his, kissing him, allowing him no escape.

* * *

**I'm pretty sure that everyone saw this coming eventually, but I'm putting it in now. If you review, you get a sneak peak of my next chapter, so please review! Hope you liked.**


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